Political Activity
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Koch Industries has spent more than $50 million to lobby in Washington between 2006 and October 2011, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The company has opposed the regulation of financial derivatives and limits on greenhouse gases. It sponsors free market foundations and causes. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, many of Koch Industries' contributions have gone toward achieving legislation on energy issues, defense appropriations and financial regulatory reform. According to Greenpeace, the company has "had a quiet but dominant role in a high-profile national policy debate on global warming," and has out-spent ExxonMobil (another corporation active in the debate over climate change science and legislation) in giving money to organizations debating legislation related to climate change. "From 2005 to 2008, ExxonMobil spent $8.9 million while the Koch Industries-controlled foundations contributed $24.9 million in funding." Another Greenpeace study states that, between 1997 and 2008, Koch Industries donated nearly $48 million to groups which doubt or oppose the theory of anthropogenic global warming. Koch Industries replied saying the Greenpeace report "distorts the environmental record of our companies."
One policy proposal to control global warming that Koch Industries has come out against is Low Carbon Fuel Standards, such as were passed in 2007 in California. According to Koch Industries, "LCFS would cripple refiners that rely on heavy crude feedstocks to provide the transportation fuels that keep America moving."
The Koch Industries website includes an opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal by Charles Koch, one of the company's owners, "Why Koch Industries is Speaking Out." The article states: "Because of our activism, we've been vilified by various groups. Despite this criticism, we're determined to keep contributing and standing up for those politicians, like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who are taking these challenges seriously."
In the 2012 election Koch Industries’ Koch PAC, which according to Forbes' journalist Clare O'Connor, has become increasingly partisan, has supported both Democrats and Republicans, though not in equal amounts. In the House of Representatives, four Democratic candidates have received a total of $23,500 from Koch PAC, while Republican candidates have been given $1.162 million.
Read more about this topic: Koch Industries
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